Gleyber Torres Will Make a Pit Cease In Detroit

Gleyber Torres is altering his stripes, so to talk. After seven seasons as an everyday on the Yankees’ center infield, the 28-year-old has agreed to a one-year, $15 million cope with the Tigers. The transfer fortifies the center infield of a staff contemporary off its first postseason look in a decade whereas additionally creating a possibility for an enigmatic participant to safe a a lot bigger deal whereas nonetheless in his 20s.

Acquired from the Cubs forward of the 2016 commerce deadline as a part of a four-prospect bundle in trade for Aroldis Chapman, Torres has spent the previous seven seasons as a mainstay of the Yankees’ center infield, enjoying the final three as their common second baseman after bouncing forwards and backwards between shortstop and second in his first 4 seasons. He made the American League All-Star staff in each 2018 and ’19, ending third within the AL Rookie of the 12 months balloting within the former 12 months and getting a little bit of down-ballot MVP help within the latter, throughout which he clubbed 38 homers and hit for a 125 wRC+, neither of which he’s been capable of replicate.

In 2023, Torres set a profession excessive in WAR (3.6) whereas posting his highest wRC+ (120) and residential run whole (25) since ’19, however his ’24 season was an uneven one. His last numbers have been unremarkable (.257/.330/.378, 104 wRC+), and he was briefly benched twice for a scarcity of hustle, however he dug himself out of a deep, early stoop to nostril his means throughout the league common line. He was at his finest late within the 12 months, a top-of-the-lineup catalyst who helped the Yankees attain their first World Collection since 2009.

After rating second on the staff with a .347 on-base share in 2023, Torres started the ’24 season because the Yankees’ leadoff hitter, however he lasted simply 12 video games earlier than being dropped within the order, first to sixth, after which to seventh. He hit simply .220/.295/.254 (62 wRC+) via the top of April, didn’t homer for the primary time till Might 2, and carried a .231/.307/.347 line with eight homers and an 88 wRC+ via the primary half. Over the All-Star break, he shored up his swing at a Tampa hitting facility that he co-owns with former teammate Gio Urshela, the place he labored on elevating the ball and hitting to the alternative subject with higher frequency. Statcast’s bat monitoring information tells us he shortened his swing barely, added a little bit of bat pace, and tapped into his quick swing extra often. His squared-up and blast charges each improved, the previous from 23.8% to twenty-eight.8%, the latter from 6.7% to 9.8%.

Torres hit .292/.361/.419 (124 wRC+) within the second half whereas slicing his strikeout price from 22.6% to 17.5%, and thrived upon being restored to the leadoff function. From August 16 onward — the purpose when he returned to the leadoff spot for good — he hit .313/.386/.454; his 142 wRC+ in that span surpassed even teammate Juan Soto, who picked the incorrect time to stoop (.229/.361/.429, 128 wRC+) for the needs of this comparability. Torres carried that momentum into October, batting .297/.400/.432 via the Division Collection in opposition to the Royals and the ALCS in opposition to the Guardians and reaching base in every of the Yankees’ first 13 postseason video games. He was significantly adept at getting on base forward of Soto and Aaron Decide within the first inning, doing so in eight out of 9 video games via these two sequence. Within the World Collection, the Dodgers held him to a 5-for-26 displaying with simply two instances on base within the first inning — however then they stifled nearly each Yankees hitter in that five-game romp.

In reaching free company, Torres confronted two issues. First, his annual performances have diversified a lot that it’s been arduous to know what to anticipate from 12 months to 12 months. He’s an above-average producer when he’s hitting 20-plus homers, however he totaled simply 15 final 12 months and 9 in 2021, when he set full-season lows with a 96 wRC+ and 1.4 WAR. Shifting from second base to shortstop led him to shed weight and energy within the identify of improved agility, and prompted him to press on the plate as his offense declined. Whereas Torres has developed into an particularly disciplined hitter — his 22.4% chase price set a full-season low and positioned within the 92nd percentile — his contact stats have declined to beneath common:

Peeking inside his in-season enchancment, although Torres’ exit velocity and hard-hit charges improved solely modestly over the season’s last six weeks, and his barrel price really fell, he reduce down on his price of poor contact (balls he bought below, topped, or hit weakly). The place he underperformed barely relative to his anticipated stats earlier than mid-August, he overperformed thereafter:

Second, Torres tends to provide again runs on the basepaths and within the subject, slicing into his worth. He’s been eight runs beneath common on the bases over the previous three seasons; his -4.6 runs was the majors’ sixth-lowest mark in 2024, and he was thrown out on the plate six instances, tied with Yandy Díaz for the majors’ highest mark. In the meantime, his previous two years’ fielding metrics have been more and more worrisome (-15 DRS, -8.1 UZR, -8 FRV), along with his 2024 marks (-11 DRS and -5 FRV) each among the many backside three at his place. Collectively, his fielding and baserunning restricted him to only 1.7 WAR in 2024.

One can perceive why Torres and his brokers won’t have seen this winter as his finest probability to land a big-dollar, long-term deal, significantly with comparatively few contenders available in the market for assist on the keystone. Therefore the one-year deal, which even given a stronger-than-expected free agent market — and even with out the drag of a qualifying provide in Torres’ case — got here in at $3 million lower than the typical annual worth projected by each Ben Clemens and our median crowdsource for our Prime 50 Free Brokers listing.

The Tigers, who went 86-76 — their first time above .500 since 2016 and their first time within the playoffs since ’14 — bought a comparatively strong 3.5 WAR out of their second basemen, with rookie Colt Keith making 125 begins there, Andy Ibáñez 24, Zack McKinstry 11, and Buddy Kennedy two. Keith, who entered the season ranked forty sixth on our Prime 100 Prospects listing, hit .260/.309/.380 (97 wRC+) with 13 homers and 7 stolen bases in a really uneven season throughout which he posted a wRC+ of 152 or increased in Might and July, and 87 or decrease within the different 4 months, together with simply an 11 wRC+ in March/April. His protection was a combined bag at finest; graded as a 30 fielder on the 20-80 scouting scale getting into the season as a consequence of his bulk, restricted vary, and stiff actions, he was eight runs beneath common in response to DRS, however one above common through Statcast.

Per MLB.com’s Jason Beck, president of baseball operations Scott Harris stated that the Tigers plan to play Torres at second and transfer the 23-year-old Keith to first base, the place the staff had already suggested him to take groundballs this winter. As for what meaning for 25-year-old Spencer Torkelson, the highest decide of the 2020 draft, he’ll should compete for time at first base and designated hitter. Whereas Torkelson has proven intermittent indicators of placing it collectively over the course of the previous three seasons, he hit simply .219/.295/.374 (92 wRC+) with 10 homers in 92 video games, and earned a demotion to Triple-A Toledo for the second 12 months out of three. This time, he was despatched down in early June, returned in mid-August, and hit a decent .248/.338/.444 (125 wRC+) with six homers in 151 PA the remainder of the best way. This transfer doesn’t look like a vote of confidence in him sustaining that stage of manufacturing.

With Kerry Carpenter vying for DH time as properly, it’s nonetheless not totally clear how supervisor A.J. Hinch will piece all of this collectively, however the Tigers have time to determine it out. As for Torres, ZiPS initiatives him for a 108 OPS+ and a couple of.5 WAR in 2025, a strong step up from what he offered this season. Right here’s a take a look at his percentile projections, courtesy of Dan Szymborski:

And right here’s what his present multiyear projection seems to be like:

Choose the size of the specified deal and ZiPS has a suggestion for the worth of the contract based mostly on that projection: one 12 months and $21 million, two years and $39 million, three years and $54 million, 4 years and $66 million, or 5 years and $72 million. Although Torres did settle for lower than the advice for a one-year deal, all of these values are most likely properly beneath the place he and his camp hoped to come back in. If this can be a pillow contract, it’s not a type of massive cushiony ones.

As for the Yankees, their $303.2 million tax payroll in response to RosterResource already locations them barely above the fourth-tier threshold ($301 million), which means that they’ll pay a major premium on whoever they add to fill a emptiness both at second or third base, relying upon the place Jazz Chisholm Jr. winds up. Per our Depth Charts (that are based mostly solely on Steamer at this level), the going-on-27-year-old Chisholm initiatives to out-produce Torres (3.5 WAR to three.0), however except the Yankees can liberate some tax area by buying and selling Marcus Stroman, a big-money addition similar to Nolan Arenado (who didn’t embody the Yankees on his six-team no-trade listing) appears unlikely.

The Yankees might wind up lacking Torres greater than they notice, nevertheless it’s clear they solely valued him so extremely, and by no means appeared significantly compelled to increase his contract; that extensions for the likes of Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks went south might have contributed to that skittishness. Torres is an imperfect participant, however the probability that his late-season enchancment carries over into 2025 nonetheless makes this signing a worthwhile short-term transfer for a Tigers staff that intends to contend.